Comments

NBA Picks

NBA Picks: Friday Night Value Picks

Where do our cappers believe that the best NBA betting value is hidden? Find out which plays we believe you should add to your NBA picks tonight, as we look to continue our success.

Atlanta, Miami, and Oklahoma City – three teams with at
least 19 wins at this point in the NBA season – will take the court on Friday
night with a chance enhance their positions. Find out if we believe that bettors should add these teams to their NBA picks this evening.

Record: 22-13-2

Atlanta Hawks vs.
Detroit Pistons

The Hawks enter 2013 with a 20-10 record, the product of
better and more prudent performances at the offensive end of the floor. It's no
idle coincidence that the Hawks have gotten better this season because they
jettisoned one of their more unreliable and exasperating offensive players,
shooting guard Joe Johnson. There was and is no question that Johnson is
immensely skilled but he took so many bad shots and also hogged the ball,
bringing ball movement to a halt. Johnson could make crunch-time jumpers from
long distances in the faces of good defenders, but he would just as often mess
up late-game possessions with his decision making – particularly his shot
selection. Atlanta's offense is moving more freely and the ball is getting
shared without Johnson around to gum things up.

The Hawks are making forward strides as a franchise. They
haven't figured everything out but they are evolving and generating an
appreciable degree of progress. They have two days off in advance of this game
and should be able to play with great energy against Detroit. Atlanta is the
prudent choice for NBA bettors to back in this spot.

The Bulls supposedly got a break this past week when their
December 26th game at Indiana was postponed. Chicago had to play on
Christmas Night – in an ugly loss against Houston – so the Bulls probably
welcomed the night off. They probably would have lost that game and so when
they returned to the court on the 29th against Washington, they were
able to play very active defense. The Bulls limited the Wizards to just 77
points in a comfortable win. The Bulls seemed to be in a position where they
could continue to dominate mediocre opponents. However, that's precisely when
Chicago fell off the path.

The Bulls, playing at home on the 31st, lost to
the lowly Charlotte Bobcats. What's more is that the Bulls lost by 10 points –
not merely one or two possessions. Charlotte snapped its 17-game losing streak
at the Bulls' expense. There cannot be a bigger indictment of a team's level of
play than to lose by 10 at home to a team on a 17-game losing skid.

Philadelphia was supposed to be a next-level contender in
the Eastern Conference this season. The Sixers were supposed to experience an
elevation in quality similar to what the New York Knicks have in fact enjoyed
to this point in time. The Hawks have also gotten better in the East but
Philadelphia is not at that point. Why?

The Sixers have not yet gained one minute of playing time
from their main offseason acquisition, center Andrew Bynum. It was Bynum who
warred in the paint against Oklahoma City in previous playoff series between
the Thunder and Bynum's Los Angeles Lakers. Bynum was and is the player who
could make Philadelphia supremely competitive against the likes of Oklahoma
City and San Antonio and Memphis, but without Bynum on the floor, the Sixers
are simply going to be undermanned in this clash. Philadelphia is a mediocre
team without Bynum and there's no other way to say as much. Oklahoma City
should roll here.